I read that the director was given the original script and didn't like it cuz it portrayed Van Damme as more of a clown. The director wanted to work with VD because he always thought there was something more to him than what you saw in the action movies. He took it from parody and made it into a deconstruction of being an action star and celebrity in general. One critic actually said JCVD's performance was second that year only to Heath Ledger's in the Dark Knight. That's a great compliment and possibly true. I still think Ledger's best work was as Ennis Del Mar, not because of the gay shit but just because it was such a hard role. It's always hard to be the straight man or the unglamorous character (since Jack Twist was the flaymboyant one) and for him to still steal all the scenes in that was just amazing.